Abidjan (Côte d'Ivoire) — The Ivorian Government, through the Ministry of Planning and Development (MPD) and the West African Sub regional Office of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), organized this Thursday a workshop on the restitution of the methodological guide for managing the project cycle of Côte d'Ivoire.

This project, which is part of ECA's fundamental mission to assist African countries, aims to support the revival of the development planning process in Côte d'Ivoire.

During this workshop, the main focus was to present project deliverables regarding the development of this methodological guide. It was specifically about presenting the diagnostic study, the methodological guide for project cycle management, and the action plan for its implementation and also about adopting it as a working instrument.

The methodological guide thus presented consisted of a set of project design and management tools based on the Logical Framework analysis method. It addresses issues related to management and decision-making during the project cycle (including missions, roles and responsibilities, key documents and selected decisions).

According to Mr Yeo Nahoua, the Director of Cabinet of the Ministry of Planning and Development of Côte d'Ivoire, "The adoption of this working document is an important step in the process of the structural transformation of our economy, one that will speed up the progress towards emergence".

The Acting Director of ECA's West Africa Regional Office, Mr Bakary Dosso, pointed out that "our support has focused on a core issue in the planning chain, and one would even say, in any economic and social development process".

According to Mr. Dosso, "this guide should eventually provide a solution to the difficulties of prioritization, the preparation of technical files, the fulfilment of conditions and studies prior to the entry into force of projects, the financing of projects and the recurrent problem of monitoring and evaluation".

He then went ahead to urge national executives, particularly those involved in the public investment programming and monitoring chain, to avail themselves of this guide, to use it and update it regularly, so that it can become a real instrument for the control of public action.

The Acting Director of the West African Regional Office of the ECA also seized the opportunity to remind participants that 2018 marks the sixtieth anniversary of the creation of the ECA. He outlined the achievements of the Commission and indicated the way forward to respond to the priorities and aspirations of Member States.

Beginning from independence in 1960, Côte d'Ivoire, it should be recalled, implemented until 1985 successive five-year plans, followed by structural adjustment plans and the poverty reduction strategy papers up to the end of 2012. With the aim of transforming Côte d'Ivoire into an emerging country by 2020, the Government has decided to put back planning at the center of public action. This commitment was given effect through the development and implementation of the National Development Plan (2012-2015 NDP) and the adoption in December 2015 of the second generation 2016-2020 NDP, a new frame of reference that is under implementation.

For more information, contact: Tahirou Gouro, Communication Officer, ECA-SRO/WA,

Mob. : +227 90 99 99 39, Email: gouro2@un.org